I Know CoMo » Blog Archive » Don’t stare too hard at ‘Goats’

Posted on 23 November, 2009 | No Comments

by Erin Riley

Director and producer Grant Heslov brings a psychedelic, drug-induced comedic outlook at life with “Men Who Stare at Goats.”

The film is about reporter Bob Wilton(Ewan McGregor) at a ho-hum newspaper and who is fed up with the dullness of his life. After interviewing a local man claiming to be a former “psychic soldier” and his wife leaving him for an one-armed man, Wilton jets off to the Middle East in search of his next big story. Wilton is convinced he should produce stories as a war correspondent, but is often left behind. One evening at a hotel restaurant he encounters Lyn Cassady(George Clooney), a strange figure who says he’s part of a secret U.S. military wing called the New Earth Army. This unit is described as “warrior monks” who fight war with their minds by using psychic abilities, can pass through solid walls and stop goats heartbeats by staring at them. Are you lost yet?

Wilton is intrigued and follows Cassady into the desert on a mission that Cassady isn’t even sure of. It is slowly revealed to the audience the two are tracking Cassady’s former psychic teacher Bill Django(Jeff Bridges). They must also battle the psychic warrior who made the entire unit fall apart, Larry Hooper(Kevin Spacey).

Viewing the trailer at another film, I thought this film looked really intriguing. It has a great assortment of cast (McGregor, Clooney and Spacey). After watching it, it seemed like two hours of torture. The storyline started out normal enough until Wilton met Cassady. The events of the duo seem too strange to believe, or even comprehend at times. In one scene, Wilton and Cassady are driving through the desert when Cassady says he is “cloud bursting” to keep himself in shape. He stares at a large, puffy cloud and it disburses before his eyes. A few second later, Cassady hits a large rock along the highway when there was nothing else to hit. Another instance is when Django promotes the use of LSD and marijuana so the New Army can “free themselves” from the world. A lot of people have used LSD, but really?

I had trouble engaging with the story and keeping my attention focused on the film. The plot was very jerky and disconnected.